This disclosure is a non-provisional patent application based on provisional application Ser. No. 60/001,404 filed Jul. 24, 1995 with the same title and named inventor of this disclosure.
The invention is in the field of desktop novelties. This type of novelty has proliferated in the last few years to the extent that currently there are dozens of such products. They cover a wide range of devices, most of which have an unusual action that either appears to defy the laws of physics, such as a ball appearing to roll uphill, or have an intriguing motion, like the row of identical spheres suspended in a single line such that if the sphere at one end is lifted away from its neighbor and allowed to swing into it, the neighbor sphere does not move, but the sphere at the opposite end swings out, then returns to reverse the action, which will continue for a minute or more in a low-friction system.
Obviously there has to be some kind of "hook" to capture the interest of passers-by. Probably the lowest form of hook is a verbal-visual pun, such as a wooden disk that has "ROUND TUIT" written on the top, so the owner can say "I just always wanted to get a round tu-it" when asked what it is.
The best novelties of the desktop variety are those that exhibit an unusual or strange-looking motion, and also serve an actual function on the desktop. Desktop space is always at a premium, and a useless article, supposedly a `paper weight`, for example, will not be able to compete very long with staplers, hole punches, dictators, a mouse, a phone, Scotch.RTM. tape, scissors, calendars, sorting area, etc. Most people have little need to weigh down papers, which rest nicely on the desk without assistance unless one offices unprotected on a wind-swept plain.